Here you can follow our sailing from Sweden to the Mediterranian.We have a new yacht s/y Carpe Diem, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40. Of practical reasons we are still using the homepage of our previous yacht s/y Xavita.

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Golfbilar på San Pedros huvudgata / Golf carts in San Pedro’s main street

Saturday 19 April, 2014 Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Trip: 310 nm Total: 11810
nm

Motoring from Rio Dulce in Guatemala northwards
towards Belize with wind and sea on the nose. We are listening to Chris Parkers
weather reports on the shortwave every morning. He says there will be
continuous headwinds for several days. During our sail northwards we are
astonished not to see any yachts and very few houses.

Belize, former British Honduras, is a small country
with few inhabitants. Both Mexico and
Guatemala have long claimed the right of Belize. There has been a long time
border conflict with Guatemala and periodically British soldiers have been
based along the border. Opposite to most of the Central American countries
Belize has never been a dictatorship but a democracy based upon British law and
order. Tourism is the most important way of income followed by farming and
fishing. Everybody speaks both English and Spanish and literacy is on the
highest level of whole Central America.

Punta Gorda is the first possible place of clearance
in Belize. As there is no harbour, you have to anchor totally unprotected, why
we continue to Placencia. Again we see several yachts from previous anchorages,
all at anchor in lee of an island. Placencia is a strange place, totally laid
back after its heydays. Now there are coffee shops and small simple restaurants
along the seafront run by left behind middle age hippies. The locals seem to be
waiting for a new tourist invasion. As some brokers do, trying to sell high
priced lots and houses.

The clearing in procedure is a new experience. First a half hour ride with watertaxi
followed by a cab ride to the authorities. For the first time during our travel
we also have to deal with the agriculture authority. Questions about us having fruit and
vegetables onboard and flies are of course answered negative and we are granted
permission to continue our sail.

Belize has the second largest coral reef in the world,
only the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is larger and longer. The three reefs
lie outside each other and parallel to the coast with some hours distance in
between. This has made Belize a diver’s paradise. We experience the most
crystal clear water so far when sailing along the reef with only a meter under the
keel. Small sand islets and mangrove islands lie along our way. The fishermen’s
simple overnight huts is the only witness of human presence. Some larger
islands have resorts and restaurants, but they seem to lack guests.

A good pilot book, radar and sharp look out are
essential as the charts are not detailed enough and often incorrect. At some
occasions at narrow passages we are stuck in the sand, but are easily coming
afloat again. The colour of the water shifts from cobalt and purple to
turquoise and emerald. We have the best snorkeling so far with lots of fish and
many types of corals.

Chris warns of a coming cold front with gale force
winds so we abstain from visiting the outer reefs.

Instead we go for a mangrove inlet as shelter for the
coming northerlies. We hit the bottom underway but drop the anchor in 3 meter
of water in the uninhabited inlet with shelter for all wind directions. The
anchor is pulled hard while two more yachts come for shelter in the inlet. A
nice dinner in the cock pit ends the day while waiting. The wind is picking up
quickly, from calm to 20 knots in a minute. Only the half-moon lits the inlet
when Xavita is riding for the anchor in the shifting gusts. Suddenly a
spotlight is shine upon us and somebody is shouting. Until then we discover the
anchor is dragging and we are coming close to the other yachts. The engine is fired up quickly and with full
throttle we move away, the anchor is pulled up in heavy rain squalls and
complete darkness, up to 35 knots. We maneuver as close to the mangroves as we
dare and reanchor in the narrow inlet. Luckily the anchor holds and we can
relax. One of us stays awake the whole night as anchor watch, while lightning
is seen over the mainland. Later when the anchor is weighed it can be seen that
the bottom consists of very fine sand, more like flour than sand.

The following days come with headwind and more running
under engine when going northwards along the reef. Some night stops and some
close encounters with Mother Earth. Next bigger settlement is San Pedro close
to the Mexican border. It shows up as one more strange place that has seen its
heydays. Several new hotels are built in the surroundings and the narrow
streets are crowded with tourists in rented golf carts. The anchorage is rolly
when dive boats are passing close at full speed underway to the reef. The
clearing out procedure is quick and smooth. Waiting one day more to allow the
sea to settle down before going out through the shallow reef cut.